In a very physical match, the No. 16 Irish come away with a commanding 2-0 victory over ACC rival Boston College.
Notre Dame (10-3-1, 3-3-0) was relentless on offense, outshooting the Golden Eagles (9-4-2, 3-2-1) by a 21-5 margin. With the win and Thursday’s 1-0 triumph over Syracuse, the Irish have now put together a two-game winning streak after losing consecutive games for the first time all year.
The game winner came in the 27th minute courtesy of midfielder Taylor Klawunder. The sophomore won position in front of the goal and headed in sophomore midfielder Sabrina Flores’ corner kick.
Thirty minutes later, Taylor’s twin sister Kaitlin Klawunder entered as a substitute in the 56th minute and immediately proved to be a wise coaching decision. Kaitlin charged into the box following a save by Boston College redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Alexis Bryant. She blasted the rebound past the outstretched Bryant for her first goal of the season.
Second-year head coach Theresa Romagnolo said she saw a return to the basics as key in her team’s turnaround.
“Sometimes we can maybe over-teach,” Romagnolo said. “They’re such great players. They all see the game and need ideas here and there, but if they rely on what they know, good things are going to flow from that.”
In addition to simplifying the game plan, Romagnolo made a positional change, moving junior Sandra Yu from midfielder to forward. It was Yu’s shot in the 57th minute that was redirected by junior forward Kaleigh Olmsted leading to the rebound Klawunder scored on.
“We moved Sandra Yu to forward because we feel that she’s a playmaker” said Romagnolo. “Having another player looking to link up gave us a different look and helped us get into a little bit of a rhythm.”
The Irish dominated in all facets of the game, especially in front of their own goal. Led by seniors Katie Naughton, Cari Roccaro and Brittany Von Rueden, the Notre Dame defense stymied nearly all of Boston College’s attacks.
“Everyone in the back is in a good covering position,” Romagnolo said. “They’re all calm and composed and can play out of it if they win the ball.”
The Golden Eagles were only able to muster up two shots on goal — both easily handled by junior goalkeeper Kaela Little. Sunday’s 2-0 victory was Little’s fourth shutout on the season.
The Irish experienced a scary moment in the 63rd minute when sophomore Sabrina Flores was struck in the face by an errant pass. She was forced to leave the pitch with a bloody nose but returned in the 75th minute to close out the game.
With only four ACC regular season games left, the Irish will look to ride this momentum to the conference tournament. Next up is a home game with Wake Forest.
Romagnolo was encouraged by her team’s most recent performance.
“I just want to keep this going and build off it. I think the first half was very good and the second half was good,” Romagnolo said. “I would like to see us get more possessions again and keep building off our ability to play make and obviously finish our chances.”
The Irish have five days to recover from the taxing match with Boston College and prepare themselves for a clash with the Demon Deacons. Friday’s home game will be played at Alumni Stadium and is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m.
